


Taken for a Fool

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 12:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16197239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: In which Darko is a fool who discovers that his girlfriend did not actually run off with the magician. Shadow belongs to Shadowlord13.





	Taken for a Fool

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadowlord13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowlord13/gifts).



Darko was surprised to find a dapple grey Jorvik Warmblood sharing a stable with the three Dark Horses when he checked on them. The rain was still sheeting down, as it ever was out here. He'd initially cast the weather spell simply to disguise the activity of the Dark Portal, so that anyone who saw the lightning would simply assume that it came from the portal. Not that anyone could get out close enough to the oil rig to see the platform for what it really was, of course, this precaution was mostly put into place to prevent any of the workers from seeing something they shouldn't. There was only so much brainwashing powder, after all. They really needed to restock.

But finding Dancer here was definitely a surprise.

"Dancer?" said Darko, holding his hand out to the dapple grey gelding. Dancer stretched his neck out, sniffing the hand of the enemy in a rather unusually gentle way for a Guardian. But perhaps Dancer trusted his rider's instincts more than he trusted his own instincts. He nudged Darko's hand, as if to greet an old friend, before he turned back to his empty feedbag and began to butt it with his head. Darko chuckled, hauling the hay bale inside to stuff inside the hay net.

As he left the stables, Darko felt like he was walking on air, despite the rain. He'd heard that the magician atop Nilmer's Highland had changed his appearance recently, resulting in a lot of attention from everyone interested in men. Personally, Darko was mildly jealous- he'd been the hot thing around here once. Not anymore.

Darko almost ran to his quarters but slowed before he got there, not wanting it to look like he'd run there. He stopped in front of his door, taking a deep breath and smoothing his hair back. He hoped he looked okay, even dripping wet from rain like he was. And then, once he was sure that he looked okay, he pushed his door open and entered the room.

"Shadow?" Darko called. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure why he'd automatically assumed that Shadow would be in his quarters. Sure, she spent a lot of time there, but...

"Oh, hey, Darko," said Shadow. Spotting movement on the couch, Darko turned and saw her. And instantly, his heart lifted, a rare smile curling his lips upward.

"My Shadow," Darko murmured, approaching her and trailing water behind him. Shadow leaned in to accept his kiss, but then laughed and shoved him away gently.

"Go and dry off," said Shadow. "You're making me all wet, and not in the good way."

"Of course," said Darko, stepping away from her again. With a snap of his fingers and a thud of his cane against the floor, hot air blasted up from beneath him, instantly drying him and making his hair stick up again.

"That's better," said Shadow, smiling at him from over the back of the couch.

"Are you well?" asked Darko, noticing that Shadow didn't move to smooth down his hair or run her fingers through it like she usually did.

"Yeah, Kito just fell asleep on my leg," said Shadow, gesturing down to her lap. Darko chuckled, walking over to look down at the large mass of black cat that was currently, as Shadow had said, asleep on his girlfriend's leg. Darko reached down to pet him, smiling and making kissy noises at the massive cat as Kito lifted his head and yawned. A purr began to rumble from him, making the entire couch vibrate.

"I am surprised to find you here," said Darko, looking to see if there was anywhere that he could sit on the couch. Short of sitting on top of Shadow (which he would rather not do) or sitting on top of Kito (which he would REALLY rather not do), there was nowhere to sit. So he stood, feeling even taller than usual. "I was certain that you would have flocked to the Highland along with every other person on that accursed island."

"No," said Shadow, shrugging as she joined her boyfriend in petting their monster of a cat. "I mean, yeah, he's pretty, but why would I want him when I have my sexy man waiting at home for me?" She grinned up at him, and Darko smiled and leaned down over the back of the couch to kiss her again. This time, Shadow reached up with the hand not occupied with petting Kito to run her fingers through Darko's red hair, smoothing it down a little.

"I am glad that you think so highly of me, my Shadow," said Darko. "Though, of course, one would be foolish to think me inferior to that magician. He might have a silver tongue, but only I can deliver on my promises." At the tone in his voice, Kito lifted his head and jumped off the couch with a huff, his tail almost knocking the television from its stand (fortunately, the TV was now cat-proof, having been enchanted to be unbreakable after getting knocked from its perch countless times).

"That is very true," said Shadow, giving Darko a kiss and pulling him in closer to her as he took Kito's spot. Darko leaned into the kiss, his body hovering over Shadow's.

"Tell me again how much you love me," said Darko, pulling away from the kiss after a few moments to run his fingers through Shadow's curly hair.

"Does your ego need stroking again?" asked Shadow, her hand stroking down his chest. Darko hummed in pleasure, watching the progression of her hand until she dropped it away at his waist.

"Perhaps," said Darko. "Though I do so love hearing it from your lips."

"Well, you know I love my redheads," said Shadow, gesturing to the TV, which was paused on the face of a very familiar redhead. Darko made a face.

"Must you always watch him?" asked Darko.

"I can imagine he's you," Shadow murmured, bringing her face close to his ear. That made Darko smile again, looking very smug. "But I love how sexy you are. Ydris looks nice, yeah, and he talks nice. But you radiate pure sexual power. And he doesn't have half the body you do." Darko chuckled, planting a kiss on Shadow's cheek.

"All sweet things to hear," said Darko. "I am simply glad that I didn't have to drag you away from him. It would hurt you, and I don't want to have to go all that way."

"Lazy," Shadow teased.

"No, only busy," said Darko. He cast a small spell to make the couch bigger, then lay down beside Shadow, their bodies pressed tightly together.

"Is that new gorilla still giving you trouble?" asked Shadow, resting a hand gently on Darko's chest while he draped his arm around her waist.

"Yes," said Darko with a sigh. "While aggression is a good trait to have in a monster, he's too aggressive. It makes him hard to handle."

"Can't you use your mind tricks on him?" asked Shadow.

"I've tried that," said Darko. "His mind is like that of a Guardian- animalistic, but with human rationality and the ability to resist my powers."

"Do you want me to have a go?" asked Shadow. "I've been coming along pretty well in my training, after all."

"I don't want you to get hurt," said Darko, holding her green gaze with his blue one. Shadow smiled softly, moving to press a kiss to his lips.

"You're sweet, but I can look after myself," said Shadow.

"I know that," said Darko. "But I can't help but want to protect you." Shadow laughed.

"Is that why you had to stop outside the door and make sure you looked decent?" asked Shadow. Darko stared at her, dumbfounded.

"How did you-"

"I heard your footsteps," said Shadow. "You seemed in a hurry to get here."

"Perhaps I was simply hoping that Kito hadn't damaged anything," said Darko. Shadow laughed again, her shoulders shaking.

"I can see right through you," said Shadow, her eyes glittering with good humour as she grinned at him. Darko chuckled, resting his forehead against hers.

"Perhaps I was," said Darko. "But you have always known that you are my weak spot. Just as I was your weak spot." He felt a thrill of pleasure all over again at what had finally convinced Shadow to join their side, the right side, for good. That battle against the Soul Riders that had almost killed him. Had killed him, really, but Shadow had brought him back.

"You're still my weak spot," said Shadow. "You have a weakness for pretty, powerful girls, I have a weakness for crazy redheads."

"Crazy?" Darko echoed, his eyes widening in dismay. Shadow shook her head, smiling.

"You know what I mean," said Shadow. "Dramatic. Powerful."

"Well, I have never been accused of being humble," said Darko. Shadow laughed again.

"Humble is not one of your personality traits, no," said Shadow.

"How long have you been here?" asked Darko after enjoying the quiet sound of her breathing and the gentle warmth of her body for a few minutes at least.

"A few weeks," said Shadow. "I've still been coming and going to train my horses on the mainland, though."

"I haven't seen you," said Darko.

"That's because, in your drama queen ways, you've been avoiding your quarters," said Shadow. "What did you think Kito had been eating?"

"Either the goons or the lunch belonging to the goons," said Darko without hesitation. Shadow gently smacked him on the shoulder.

"He needs to be fed a balanced diet, Darko!" said Shadow. "And what about Sebastian, huh?"

"The girls have been taking turns babysitting," said Darko, grinning. Shadow rolled her eyes.

"No wonder I've never seen him," said Shadow. "Did you really think I'd abandon our child because of some pretty magician?" She began to move to get up, so Darko sat up and let Shadow stand to look down at him. He suddenly felt very small.

"When you put it like that, it does make me sound like an idiot," said Darko.

"That's because you are one," said Shadow with a roll of her eyes. "You're lucky I love you. Now, come on." She held her hand out. Darko looked at it uncertainly.

"You truly still love me?" asked Darko, looking up at her.

"Yes," said Shadow, nodding. "You're an idiot, but I still love you. You're lucky you're so good-looking." Darko grinned as he took Shadow's hand and stood up, not letting go of her hand as Shadow switched the TV off and walked over towards the door leading into the corridor with him.

The two of them walked down the corridor, passing several doors and making several turns until at last Darko heard the familiar sounds of his baby.

"They're in here," said Darko, nodding as he led Shadow towards Jessica's quarters. He knocked on the door, hearing noise inside for a few moments before the door opened, revealing the unusually-bright face of Jessica.

"What do you want?" asked Jess. "Oh, she is here, I thought you said she was on Jorvik." She frowned at Shadow. "Darko said you'd eloped with a magician."

"Darko's an idiot," said Shadow. Darko gasped in offense, feeling a little stung at Shadow calling him an idiot in front of someone else. "I've been here this whole time, I've just been busy training and sorting out things back at Shadow Dancer stables."

"I told you she wouldn't run off with him," said Jess, rolling her eyes at Darko. "We all told you that, but did you listen?" She shook her head.

"Is my baby in here?" asked Shadow, peering past Jessica.

"Yeah, he's watching a DVD," said Jess, moving so that Shadow could walk into the room. The motherly part of Shadow wanted to frown over the many weapons lining the walls (including a sword displayed prominently above Jessica's bed, and a suit of armour that Jess had once worn in battle), but she only had eyes for her precious little red-haired boy.

"Sebastian," Shadow cooed, stooping down to pick up her baby and giving the infant a little smooch on the forehead. Her heart swelled with love as she cradled her baby. She'd missed Sebastian more than she'd thought possible, over these past few weeks. And Sebastian seemed to agree, giving a squeal and grabbing at his mother's hair. Shadow laughed.

"A DVD?" Darko asked Jess, looking at the screen. "Really?"

"A lot of parents do it, apparently," said Jess.

"It's a war documentary," said Darko.

"Never too early to learn," said Jess.

"He's not even one yet," said Darko.

"Yeah, well, if you hadn't been such an idiot, he wouldn't have needed looking after," said Jess.

"Actually, he might have still needed a babysitter," said Shadow. "I've been busy training my horses lately, so I haven't been able to look after him."

"How does that work with breastfeeding?" asked Jess, frowning. Though she sounded genuinely curious.

"Darko, show her my breast pump," said Shadow.

"Actually, no, don't, I get it now," said Jess, holding her hand up. 

"And I've been here feeding him between training. You seriously haven't seen me?" Shadow asked, frowning.

"Jessica has been sulking since that squirrel incident," said Darko. Jess scowled, folding her arms over her chest.

"If squirrels weren't my mortal enemy before, they are now," said Jess.

"And the others?" asked Shadow.

"Katja has been gloating, Sabine has been waiting for orders," said Jess with a shrug. "No idea what Sands has been up to. It's been pretty quiet around here, basically."

"Well, I would love to invite you girls to work in the Institute with me, but I can't even trust you with a simple mission to kidnap a squirrel," said Darko, smirking at Jess. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for looking after Sebastian," said Shadow, bouncing her baby in her arms. "I'm sorry my boyfriend is such an idiot."

"I'm sorry he's your boyfriend," said Jess with a snort. "Please ask me to babysit again sometime soon, though."

"Well, war documentaries aside, you did a pretty good job," said Shadow. "He looks happy and healthy, and that's all I want."

"I'm glad that you approve of my methods," said Jess, looking quite proud of herself. "Unlike some people." She glared at Darko.

Shadow left the room with her boyfriend before Darko could get into a fight with her, though, going back to their own quarters. Kito greeted them at the door, the regular cat chirp sounding obscure coming from such a large throat. Shadow only laughed, though, brushing past him with her baby and heading over to place Sebastian inside his playpen. He was a few months old though, not the little bundle of cloth that he'd seemed to be when he'd been born. He already definitely had his mother's mannerisms, though, being quite independent and loving his plush horse toy.

"I confess, I haven't slept in my own bed since you- I mean, since I-" Darko couldn't finish, knowing that he'd only look more foolish if he did.

"I know what you mean," said Shadow with a laugh. "Since Ydris gave himself a makeover."

"Yes," said Darko. "I'm glad that I don't need to worry about that."

"It's okay, he's not my type. If he had red hair and was less of a silver tongue, though, there might be an issue," said Shadow, giving her boyfriend a wink. Darko bristled.

"I have missed you," said Darko, calming as he looked into his girlfriend's wonderful green eyes. They were as green as envy.

"I missed you too," said Shadow. "Next time, just don't be an idiot, okay?"

"I'll try not to be," said Darko. Shadow chuckled and kissed him again, pulling him over to the bed so that they could cuddle properly. As Darko settled down beside his girlfriend, curving his body around hers, he really did feel like an idiot. He'd almost written her off, had truly believed that she'd run off with that wizard, when really, she'd been here the whole time. He really needed to have more faith in his girlfriend. But of course, he'd never tell her that. He was too proud to ever admit when he'd been wrong.


End file.
